Meherpur authorities say a police constable has died by suicide after shooting himself with a rifle on the morning of Eid-ul-Azha.
The incident occurred at the Ratanpur Police Outpost in Mujibnagar early on Wednesday, said Abdul Hashem, OC of Mujibnagar Police Station, bdnews24.com reports.
The dead man, Saiful Islam, hailed from Kushtia’s Kumarkhali Upazila and was assigned to the outpost.
“Saiful had a service rifle and it seems he put it against his head and fired,” OC Hashem said, based on a preliminary probe.
Upon hearing the gunshot, other personnel at the outpost rushed to the scene and found the dead body. Senior officials inspected the scene after receiving news of the incident.
“Our initial belief is that he committed suicide due to depression,” the OC said.
Saiful’s body would be sent to his home village after an autopsy at Meherpur Sadar Hospital, according to the OC.
Saiful’s wife, Farida Khatun, said that he saw little of his family because ‘he was busy with his duties at work’.
“He had various worries about the family,” she said. “But I don’t know why he decided to put a gun to his head and fire. The police contacted me right after his death.”
Saiful’s co-workers say they are under increased pressure at work due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In addition, Saiful had not seen his family in some time.
They described Saiful as a quiet type and said he sometimes looked depressed. But none of them thought he would take such drastic action.